


i dont paint daisies but i wish i could

by loewen_grube



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Art School, F/F, Long-Distance Relationship, Modern Thedas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:30:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4829207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loewen_grube/pseuds/loewen_grube
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Family issues and personal matters have prevented Hawke from visiting her girlfriend, but nothing can stop her from making do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i dont paint daisies but i wish i could

It was _supposed_ to be a formal date after so long.

It was on a pizza place, that build-your-own type, that has its own bar and all. Merrill _loved_ that joint, and she was so excited she even forgot to take off her ID and smooth her hair as she headed to the place, seemingly more excited about the food than meeting up with Hawke. She could build and eat all the white vegetarian pizza she could, provided she had the money…

...which she did not. Merrill dug around her bag as she neared the counter with Hawke, trying to fill in the few dollars needed for at least one serving without running out of money for the things she actually need. But Hawke smiles and takes out her credit card and pays for her food, saying that she can pay her back by stealing her a few drinks from the drink bar.

(Merrill did, but only once – snatching a styro cup from the counter and sneaking a drink from the bar without asking permission or paying the dollar for it, and went back and  disagreed to get her a second helping; Hawke just laughs and accepts the blue lemonade with glee.)

After the meal, she remembered that she ran out of film for her photography class, and went out on a supply run for the film and other things she needed for her other majors, and went window-shopping for dresses ( _for reference! </_, Merrill claims), before it just went downhill from there.

Firstly, Hawke paid.

For  _everything_.

The food, the expensive film and the other supplies, the ice cream, the dresses Merrill gave a little too much attention to. _Everything_. She wanted to pay for her supplies -- it was _her c_ lass, she had the money for it and she was ready to skip dinner for those -- but Hawke always has that annoying credit card that she flashes before her bills even make it out of her purse, and she wanted to scream and slam her wallet on the counter before Hawke does, but screaming to your girlfriend after a long time of not seeing her doesn't sound like a pleasant idea.

Second, just as they were headed to the terminal so Merrill can head home, it started _raining_ , and Merrill wasn’t prepared for that, and she was carrying several huge things that would be unpleasant to be drenched in rainwater and definitely wouldn’t fit under the novelty kid’s show umbrella she brought, because, well, _it’s for children._

Conveniently, Hawke brought her van, and her apartment she rented in due to her work was just a few minutes by car, if traffic was kind to them in this weather. And it was like Merrill can argue – she’d waste all of Hawke’s effort (and _money_!) if they’d get drenched in water.

“Aw. Merrill, if you feel guilty,” Hawke says, running her hands on Merrill’s hair, “you can pay me back one way.”

“I won’t steal another drink for you, if that’s what you want.” She puffs her cheeks defiantly, if there was such a thing. “But really, what is it?”

“Are you busy tomorrow?”

A pause, before Merrill shakes her head, and Loemele smiles as she slowly takes off Merrill’s ID off her neck, and wraps the lanyard around the card before slipping it in one of the shopping bags. “Please stay up late with me,” she says, voice soft yet gentle, a detail that surprisingly stands out even with the torrent of rain around them. “Let’s play games and watch movies and do sweet girlfriend things we couldn’t do because we were busy and sad and all sorts of fucked up.”

It's true. It's been months since their last date. Art college is not really a good setup if you want to maintain a relationship, and having personal issues and trying to fix your relationship with your family isn't also a good thing to have when you want to get a girlfriend, yet here they are, trying to maintain this long-distance thing like it was the only thing they have.

How could she say no?

She followed Hawke to her van, dumped all the things in the back, and sat by the passenger seat as Hawke starts the vehicle up and starts driving to the avenue to her home. They were surprisingly silent, and Hawke may have noticed that, because she started the car music player and blasted out rock music to fill in the silence and to calm her down. She smiled like the sun, like the burning flames of a campfire, and Merrill loved that.

She smiled like old times, and Merrill can’t help but smile, too.

Before she knew it, Hawke says that they’re there, and the place… actually didn’t look like an apartment. At most, it looks like a cabin in the middle of the woods, save for the obvious garage and the houses around it. Loemele parks the van in the spacious garage and helps Merrill down the vehicle, and leads her into the living room.

Hawke clicks on the lights, but nothing comes. She clicks on it several more times to no avail. She turns on her phone flashlight, clearly seeing Merrill’s growing discomfort. "Aw, shit.” Merrill couldn’t see it much, but she was sure she was scratching her head. “I think the power went down because of the rain. Stay here while I power up the generator, okay?”

She did not wait for a response before she left, leaving Merrill in the dark, a little too scared to put down her bags or take out her phone for a little source of light. The only light in the room was the street lights from outside and the front lights from Hawke’s car, and even so, all she saw were shadows of the little statues in the living room and the barely illuminated overpriced painting that Hawke commissioned her last summer–

“Boo!” Someone pops out of nowhere and scoops Merrill in her arms, and the elf dropped her bags and started shrieking before she realized it was Hawke, with a flashlight hard helmet on her head. She was already wrapped in bedroom blankets and dressed in board shorts and a dirty home shirt, and Hawke was quick to bring her along to her room, illuminated only by a bunch of gas lamps and candles. Her shrieks were replaced by laughing soon as she plops the elf down the bed.

“Loemele!” Merrill punches Loemele lightly on the shoulder as soon as she has caught her breath, and Loemele giggles as she takes off the helmet. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Well, its a little unsafe to use the generator right now, chance of flood and all, and I couldn’t really give the games and movies I promised,” Loemele says, smiling as she undoes Merrill’s scarf and hugs her closer. “But you being here is enough. Is that okay? Are you happy with that?”

Merrill smiles as she lies down Hawke’s bed. It was soft and fluffy, just like in her old estate. It feels like home even though it was as dark and odd as her old home years ago. She waves Hawke to come closer, and she did, lying down beside her, settling in a hug. They stayed like that for a while before Merrill answers. “Always,” she says, before she falls asleep.

She get more than a game and a movie the next morning, like Hawke owed her that, but Merrill just brushes it off. She’s as happy as before. That’s all that matters, right?


End file.
